Wee tip about automated agents that produce M$ word or Powerpoint documents

If you have a scheduled Domino agent (either local or server) that produces a Wurd or PowerPoint(less) and you suddenly start to see "automation errors" appear... start Wurd or PowerPoint(less) and turn off spelling and grammer checking.

Took me ages to figure out what was going on ... Wurd and PowerPoint(less) will send a message if you are running interactively saying something along the lines of  "You are a really crap speller and I have stopped because there are so many mistakes and I really think it is pointless going on" ..and if you run your agent asd a scheduled agent these alert boxes never appear :-(

This started happening when the Wurd/PowerPointless was upgraded to the 2007 version, so I assume that in this version the spelling and grammer checker gets all Prim and Proper about content unless you go into the options and turn the damn thing off.

The spelling mistakes were on corporate part numbers!

Bit of a problem with Firefox, Safari and FLEX uploads to a Domino Server

After much head scratching over an issue I had with uploads FLEX and Firefox, namely authenticated uploads work in IE but do not in Firefox i have discovered the cause. As described by Jake Howlett over on his excellent CodeStore site FLEX uses a class called the FileReference to get and then upload the file or files the user selects.

The problem comes in that for some reason Firefox does not sent the DomAuthSessId cookie over in the header.. for example here is a header receieved from FLEX from an authenticated session using the FLEX HTTPRequest object.

*** New Request -- Parse and Check Request: Session 7, Thread 1ba4, Clock 1602816
GET /econtent/AC_OETags.js HTTP/1.1
Host: www.atuin.com:81
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.0; en-GB; rv:1.9.0.15) Gecko/2009101601 Firefox/3.0.15 (.NET CLR 3.5.30729)
Accept: */*
Accept-Language: en-gb,en;q=0.5
Accept-Encoding: gzip,deflate
Accept-Charset: ISO-8859-1,utf-8;q=0.7,*;q=0.7
Keep-Alive: 300
Connection: keep-alive
Referer: http://www.atuin.com:81/econtent/econtent.html
Cookie: DomAuthSessId=47F0EA4947495C8C4C6E9FAF6665CD73
If-Modified-Since: Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:07:20 GMT

and here is the next header received by the server from FLEX again running on Firefox in the same session using the FileReference.upload() method

*** New Request -- Parse and Check Request: Session 8, Thread 7c4, Clock 1617184
POST /econtent.nsf/Gallery?createDocument HTTP/1.1
Accept: text/*
Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=----------GI3ae0Ij5gL6ei4KM7GI3ae0Ef1ei4
User-Agent: Shockwave Flash
Host: www.atuin.com:81
Content-Length: 8644
Connection: Keep-Alive
Cache-Control: no-cache

As you can see no DomAuthSessId.. and what happens well the Domino Server does what it is meant to do, it sends back the Logon screen to the Flex program. In case you are wondering this data was obtained from my server using the following Server Console commands prior to test running the FLEX

tell http debug thread on | off (default level)
tell http debug postdata on | off (for client POST data)
tell http debug responsedata on | off (for server response data)

Now this is a major FUBAR and it is odd to be complaining about FF and not IE but there you go. It seems FF starts an entirely new browser instance to do the FileReference.upload() hence the no DomAuthSessId being passed.

However all is not lost you think, the FileReference takes a URLRequest object and it has the ability to be coded to load the Header with values should you need them. Well yes it does and you can set any number of values in the URLRequest object BUT and it is a bigh BUT Flex ignores them, so there is no way out that way!.

Nothing I have tried to date allows me to use the pre-authentication of the browser instance my flex is running in to send a file to the server via the FileReference object. FECK! and yet it works perfectly in IE8 (a fact which is particularly galling) it is FireFox (and from my testing Safari) that are the problems on this occasion and it holds true for Flex 3 and Flex 4 and from my browsing of the Adobe site not likely to be acknowledged as a problem let alone fixed any time soon.

So far the only work around I can come up with is to spawn out to a standard browser child window upload the file there using a Domino File Upload control and then use an external JS function to talk to the parent flex program when the file sucessfully uploads.. which is a bloody pain in the arse!

The whole situation is not helped by the Domino server not liking a standard POST method of getting data from the client to the server..

Anyway there you go .. back to the head scratching

It seems the modern bible is a Nasty Namby Pamby Liberal construct

LOL this is priceless... and was passed to me by someone who thinks it is a "good" idea and loudly applauds it. I was [thankfully] speechless when he told me because I would have been very very rude had I actually read it at the time he told me about it.

The link I got is here ... however in synopsis

.. As of 2009, there is no fully conservative translation of the Bible which satisfies the following ten guidelines:^[2]

1. Framework against Liberal Bias: providing a strong framework that enables a thought-for-thought translation without corruption by liberal bias
2. Not Emasculated: avoiding unisex, "gender inclusive" language, and other feminist distortions; preserve many references to the unborn child (the NIV deletes these)
3. Not Dumbed Down: not dumbing down the reading level, or diluting the intellectual force and logic of Christianity; the NIV is written at only the 7th grade level^[3]
4. Utilize Powerful Conservative Terms: using powerful new conservative terms to capture better the original intent;^[4] Defective translations use the word "comrade" three times as often as "volunteer"; similarly, updating words that have a change in meaning, such as "word", "peace", and "miracle".
5. Combat Harmful Addiction: combating addiction^[5] by using modern terms for it, such as "gamble" rather than "cast lots";^[6] using modern political terms, such as "register" rather than "enroll" for the census
6. Accept the Logic of Hell: applying logic with its full force and effect, as in not denying or downplaying the very real existence of Hell or the Devil.
7. Express Free Market Parables; explaining the numerous economic parables with their full free-market meaning
8. Exclude Later-Inserted Inauthentic Passages: excluding the interpolated passages that liberals commonly put their own spin on, such as the adulteress story
9. Credit Open-Mindedness of Disciples: crediting open-mindedness, often found in youngsters like the eyewitnesses Mark and John, the authors of two of the Gospels
10. Prefer Conciseness over Liberal Wordiness: preferring conciseness to the liberal style of high word-to-substance ratio; avoid compound negatives and unnecessary ambiguities; prefer concise, consistent use of the word "Lord" rather than "Jehovah" or "Yahweh" or "Lord God."

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL... Free Market Parables..makes me think ...todays reading is from the Book of Friedman Chaper 2.

Yea Verify .. and the Lord was asked by a grower of Peas ..."Rabbi the Romans doth want to extract a levy on the benefit I get when I put Donkey Poo on my Peas where for should I do?" and the lord answered thus 
"My son a free market describes a market without econmic intervention and regulation by governement except to regulate again force or fraud. The Romans being foreginers and slow on the uptake could not find their arses with both hands, 10 slaves and a scroll, but for now sucketh it up and give them their due, for come the reagan administration they will be first against the wall"

Now this is an interesting a site - Multicolour Search Site

Now this is an interesting site, it takes several colours you choose and then presents you Flickr images that contain those colours. Now when trying to get a "scheme" for a web site that combines colours or uses what you believe to be challenging colour combinations this is rather useful as you can see if they do work and if the "real" world uses them too.

Mlticolr Search Lab

Carl Sagan Day

Ah well a little late on the ball for the blog, but it is the week end and I was doing other things. Yesterday Nov 7th was the first Carl Sagan Day celebrating what would have been the eponymous scientist's 75th birthday.

Carl Sagan was one of my hero's as a teenager interested in all things scientific. One of the few "big" books that has followed me from house to house and has survived several "clear outs" is "Cosmos" and as my own small part in the celebrations of the day I re-read several of my favourite chapters.

Belated happy birthday Professor Sagan! You are missed!

Pope Benedict the Anglicans the Guardian and married Priests

I was in a conversation the other evening about Pope BendyDick's recent repeated offer to the Anglican communions that should get get all annoyed, cross and fuming over the fact that someone who naturally has a uterus and no willy be made a bishop can come and be Catholics. Now the offer is open not only to Anglicans one at a time but aslo for full congregations including the priests, now this poses somewhat of a problem for those priests that are Anglican and are married.

Now the Guardian is a paper I seldom readm but it usually is reasonably up to speed on the idea of research however one of the people I was in conversation with made the comment when I brought up the problems of being married and a priest retorted that "Well I read it in the Guardian they could be married", She would not be swayed in her belief, something that is in the Guardian is to be believed more that the internal rules that govern the Catholic Church .. aka "Canon Law".

For all you Guardian readers out there who may have read that and are now defending the idea that the Catholic Church has done a U-Turn on this policy .. here are some facts the Guardian missed.

Up until 1139 all the clery could be married (Infact 39 popes where offically married). The Second Lateran council changed the rules. All existing priest marriages were declared invalid and future priests were required to maintain celibacy.

Celibacy as defined by the 2nd Lateran council is quite rigidly defined (in Latin) Priest are not allowed to be married or have sex with females, males, self, animals, etc... it makes an interesting and funny if it were not the document that sentenced the priesthood to centuries of misery really for no good reason other than they didnt like sex getting in the way.

The Church resists to this day married priests. For a priest to legally get married under canon law he must be granted a special dispensation to release him from the rule of celibacy, (in fact if a priest wants to have an offical period of "self love" he needs to have this permisson as well)

However the process to grant the dispensation and the actual wording of the dispensation are problematic. When applying for the dispensation a priest must put together a lot of paperwork. Part of the paperwork almost requires him to say that he never should have been ordained a priest in the first place.

The document that grants dispensation from celibacy is called "a rescript", and it includes wording that says the priest loses rights to
1. the clerical state
2. loses his office of priest
3. is no longer bound by the duties of the clerical state.

The priest is then allowed to marry under Church rules.

However, the rescript wording also includes a prohibition of exercising any sacred ministry. Thus the priest may not participate in a parish as a lector/reader, eucharistic minister, or any functions of a deacon or priest.

So, when Anglian priests decide to jump ship and are all ready married will all of them have to apply for and get the dispensation? Yes if they want to stay offically married then yes they do.

The canon law that applies is number 1394 which is

"Without prejudice to the provisions of can. 194, ß1, n. 3, a cleric who attempts marriage, even if only civilly, incurs a latae sententiae suspension. If, after warning, he has not reformed and continues to give scandal, he can be progressively punished by deprivations, or even by dismissal from the clerical state"

However there is a "get out" rule in Canon law 1335

"Provided it is not reserved to the Apostolic See (the Vatican), a penalty which is established by law and has been imposed or declared, can be remitted by the following:

Provided it is not reserved to the Apostolic See, a latae sententiae penalty established by law but not yet declared, can be remitted by the Ordinary in respect of his subjects and of those actually in his territory or of those who committed the offence in his territory. Moreover, any Bishop can do this, but only in the course of sacramental confession."

So basically as long as no-body says anything and the priest do not apply for permission to be married and the See does not declare or impose a "latae senentiae" then everything is fine, the priest remains as he was before, cept he is no longer lonely in bed.

Aint it grand to see the high-heejin-god-bothers being clever?

So in answer to the the lady who queried me on why i believed Anglican priests cannot remain married, No they can't if they want to follow the rules of the organisation they belong to, they will become "latae senentiae" if they do.
But if they want to just keep on going and ignore that particular rule then they can, but you do have to then question any stand they make on Abortion, Divorce etc etc etc, which are also against canon law.

Another case of "Do as I Say not as I do" from the men in the funny frocks!

My Cousin Andy on stage, on CD an in Print

Just back from the "big smoke" (or Belfast if you prefer) where my cousin Andy White orginally from Belfast has just launched his book to a crowd of native Norn Ironer's including myself.

I am just home with the new CD and Book and both are worth a listen and a read.. You can find details and a few tracks over on his web site.

You can find the CD "Songwriter" on amazon but there  is only 1 left!!! It is not on iToons yet , but keep and eye open if you like your music thoughtful, melodic and with good lyrics Cousin Andy is just the ticket!

The Book is called "21st century Troubadour" (and is a damn good read!!!) and isnt available on line as far as i can see but you can get it off his website (i think)

Here is his last Video If you want it sung with Allison Russell from the Canadian Band Po'Girl

Thinking of a new career

It comes to us all from time to time, general malaise, dicomfortature with the day to day slog and a feeling of dissatisfaction with the way your life is progressing. Well today was one of those days for me. Rather than sit around moping and being grumpy which is my usual recourse at times like these I decided to mark today with a potential change in direction career wise. Get a little more £'s in the pension pot and all that. So having had a look in the "Sits Vac" I think I may have found the next career jump for yours truly .. President of Europe.

Blair seems to have ruined his chances and there is no dead certainty for the post that comes up next year.
I think I would be perfect for the job so I went off and found out who is the Irish representative on the European council, got her email address and sent her this message.(Click for a better view)

I hope I can count on your support when it comes to lobbing the powers that be.


I am off now to register DominoYesMayBe4President.org and McDonagh4President.org.

Later All!